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Post by lurker on Aug 3, 2018 19:51:44 GMT -7
e-mailed bikeworld re my missing order, noticed in passing what looked like a usps tracking #, entered it into USPS website, sure enough a tracking # generated on the 20th in schenectady ny. the postman apparently picked it up at the vendor, scanned it in, and promptly lost it. this same thing happened last time i ordered from them. someone in the schenectady post office needs their butt kicked. i'll be sure to explain to bikeworld why i won't be doing businesss with them in the future.
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Post by lurker on Aug 4, 2018 5:01:03 GMT -7
got a reply from jessica at bikeworld, says they'll be "rushing" me another package. i'm thinking of writing an actual letter to the schenectady postmaster informing them that one of their carriers probably has a basement full of unshipped packages or has been selling them at flea markets or stuffing them in dumpsters.
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Post by junkyarddog on Aug 4, 2018 20:04:17 GMT -7
I didn't know thumb shifters are indexed. Never used them. just for sh!ts & giggles, you might try the new shifters with the old derailleur. Although for the indexing to work, it's matched to the throw of the derailleur. Just thought it would be worth a try before breaking the chain. they came indexed and non indexed..... had indexed on my 92 diamondback outlook I had many moons ago.... bought it new.......I had both a huffy and murray before that and they were non indexed
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Post by lurker on Aug 5, 2018 6:09:02 GMT -7
a lot has changed over the years. i didn't ride much through the eighties, very briefly in the 90s, not at all until about a year ago. part of it was living in the country, you really need a car to get to where you're going. anyway, i missed the entire bmx/mountain bike thing, i remember (don't hate me) thinking they looked like a regression to kids bikes after the refinements of street/road bikes in the late 70s. i was wrong, bike technology overall has improved as a result of bmx/mountain bikes, and a lot of it is still new and strange to me, learning as i go. but it's true, you never really forget how to ride a bike.
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Post by lurker on Aug 8, 2018 10:04:13 GMT -7
parts arrived today. i believe they "upgraded" the a050 shifters to SL-tx50s, and the rd-ty21 to a rd-tz500. that's fine, i'll keep them, though the a050s were the whole reason why i used them instead of another vendor. i also believe that the problem is not with the USPS or their carrier, but in bikeworld's mailroom. i say this because they can apparently re-use the same tracking #, avoiding additional shipping costs, which suggests to me that they generate the tracking # onsite. they seem like nice people, i hope they can get their problems straightened out. i'm rather busy moving to my new old house, so i'll get to installing them "soon"
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Post by lurker on Aug 9, 2018 18:25:39 GMT -7
y'all, please tell me about side-pull brakes. both of my peugeots came to me with centerpulls, which have lovely symmetry and a certain euro-cachet, but require 3 hands to adjust. the denali has side-pulls. is there any performance-related difference?
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Post by fatdaddy61 on Aug 9, 2018 19:50:28 GMT -7
my head thinks center pull have to be better. After I watched that video in the repair section tho and saw I wasn't adjusting them right and it made a big diferece
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Post by lurker on Aug 9, 2018 20:00:09 GMT -7
oh, now, there's a concept, check for a video. i did watch a park tools video, which said i need a special tool or a toe-clip strap.
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Post by fatdaddy61 on Aug 10, 2018 7:39:01 GMT -7
I sould have said it help me with the side pull brakes. didnt need special tools. Just seems like center pull would pull evenly from the center. Side pull are on most wally bikes now and just suck unless ajusted perfectly.
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Post by desertbikes on Aug 10, 2018 8:31:12 GMT -7
Cool Stop pads help to. Yeah, intellectually, the linear side pull should work slightly better as you're they operate on a fulcrum. In practice they are a pain in the ass, frequently with only one side contacting the rim. My wife's trike has one on the front & my old Genesis 29er has one on the back. I'll have to watch the video again to see what tool lurker is talking about - Park mfgs bike tools so a plug for a unique tool is often in their videos. There is usually a cost effective alternative. My '80s Univega has center pull & I never had to adjust them unless pads were changed.
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Post by desertbikes on Aug 10, 2018 8:34:20 GMT -7
Oh, and I could get the Genesis adjusted good enough to lock up the rear wheel if I wanted. Never could get the wife's adjusted correctly. Or maybe I didn't put in the effort because she cruises at 4 mph.
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Post by lurker on Aug 10, 2018 11:41:53 GMT -7
i should probably add that i got mine adjusted, but it was painful, involving bits of wood and spring clamps, not the most efficient arrangement. i guess what i hear y'all saying is that side pulls can be just as bad.
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Post by lurker on Aug 24, 2018 19:46:44 GMT -7
today i rode the peugeot up to the local bike shop and bought a hanger for the drlr, got it home and worked on it some. obviously i don't really know what i'm doing. was having trouble getting the new drlr aligned, so i checked the old suntour vgtluxe and that seems to work ok. it has the range for 7 gears if everything else is adjusted right. so into the parts box goes the new shimano drlr. now try the new shifters. ack, wont go on the handlebars, mount appears too small. not giving up, will try again, but not having a good day. maybe watch a couple of bike repair videos.
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Post by fatdaddy61 on Aug 24, 2018 20:24:29 GMT -7
How bout a pic of the shifter. The mounting clamp is usually a little bit adjustable. like 25mm to 27.?Maybe yours is only for a certain size. what is the bar diamerter at the ends?
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Post by lurker on Aug 25, 2018 12:27:41 GMT -7
the man wants numbers. i gots no numbers for ya, man. but i have managed to get the tx50 shifters on the bars, by bending the mounting brackets out a bit. maybe the original screws will work, maybe i'll have to rustle up a longer pair of screws. right now, the mounting brackets are interfering with the safety levers, which did not happen with the actual a050s i got the first time around. i'll keep fiddlin' with 'em, make 'em work. or not. maybe these will be BETTER. or not. then it will be picture time.
eta: part of the problem here is that i'm in a long drawn-out process of moving 2 miles up the road, and the denali (with the a050s) is at the other house. iirc, the a050s don't stick out, nor do i plan to add safety levers to the denali, so if i go back to plan A., swap the a050s off the denali (replace w/ the new tx50s) and onto the peugeot that problem goes away. i'll be spending the day at the other house tomorrow, and will likely have some time. maybe i'll try to get the peugeot up there. i'm building a fence and will be there awaiting delivery of stuff.
sunday eta: violet the peugeot is now at the other house with the denali, but i didn't get to work on it today. overheated myself cutting the grass and hauling boxes. maybe tomorrow.
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Post by lurker on Aug 27, 2018 14:34:52 GMT -7
so today i was up at the new house where both bikes now reside, and though i didn't get the chance to work on violet, i did get to thinking about it and the denali. i think both frames are properly sized for me, and due to adding little stuff to violet and taking stuff off of the denali, they're both within a pound of each other, at about 27. so apart from the fact that one is steel and the other is aluminum, what, really, is there to distinguish between them, except maybe frame geometry? as you can see (sort of) from my profile picture (bigger version in post 7 page 1), they're pretty similar. the denali seat sits a little higher. maybe i'll go over them with a tape measure and see what actual differences there are. i'm thinking the peugeot's wheelbase is a tad longer, and the crank a bit lower. maybe i should wait until i get the shifters squared away.
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Post by lurker on Aug 28, 2018 14:35:06 GMT -7
today i stuffed fence posts and concrete in holes, then worked on bikes for a bit. tomorrow is stringers and pickets, then dig more holes if i have any energy left. put the a050 shifters on the peugeot, and the TX50s on the denali. both sets look like they belong. i'll try to get pics tomorrow. though it still needs fine tuning, the peugeot is rideable. denali is not. i'm getting better at this.
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Post by lurker on Aug 29, 2018 16:28:32 GMT -7
denali: cabling not done yet, obviously. may add safety levers one day.
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Post by lurker on Aug 29, 2018 16:29:52 GMT -7
and violet, with safety levers, but no computer. likely will add a computer on the stem.
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Post by lurker on Oct 23, 2018 16:33:33 GMT -7
well, there's good news and there's bad news. we've moved away from our sociopath neighbor, and my blood pressure is under control. that's good. not online regularly yet, currently leeching wifi from bojangles. meanwhile the denali was stolen. bad. brakes and shifters not connected, probably ditched within a couple of blocks, so i watch the bushes as i go about my day, but no luck so far. still have and ride violet with the a050 thumb shifters, still working on the derailleur. so the question of what to do with an extra bicycle appears solved. hopefully in a couple of weeks sanity will return
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Post by desertbikes on Oct 28, 2018 9:20:44 GMT -7
Sorry about the denali. Altho you may eventually get pieces of it back at the bike co-op
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Post by lurker on Oct 28, 2018 17:09:40 GMT -7
may eventually get pieces of it back at the bike co-op i'm still curious about how the new shifters would have worked out. they looked good.
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Post by lurker on Nov 1, 2018 7:29:41 GMT -7
denali is back home. city workers found it in some ditch or under some bush, took it to the police, police notified me yesterday. none the worse for wear except a dirt smudge or two. chain came of the chainwheel, idiot thief didn't know how to fix it. guess this means i'm not done with it yet.
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Post by fatdaddy61 on Nov 2, 2018 16:50:47 GMT -7
damn man that is a rare happy ending!
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Post by lurker on Nov 3, 2018 6:09:42 GMT -7
i was hopeful but yeah, unlikely outcome.
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